I wrote my name upon the sand,
And trusted it would stand for aye;
But, soon, alas! the refluent sea
Had washed my feeble lines away.
...
I sit in the shadow of apple-boughs,
In the fragrant orchard close,
And around me floats the scented air,
With its wave-like tidal flows.
...
Fair Harvard, dear guide of our youth's golden days;
At thy name all our hearts own a thrill,
...
'Twas on Lake Erie's broad expanse
One bright midsummer day,
The gallant steamer Ocean Queen
Swept proudly on her way.
...
I have a beautiful castle,
With towers and battlements fair;
And many a banner, with gay device,
Floats in the outer air.
...
My Charlie has gone to the war,
My Charlie so brave and tall;
He left his plough in the furrow,
And flew at his country's call.
...
Just from the sentry's tramp
(I must take it again at ten),
I have laid my musket down,
And seized instead my pen;
...
'A VICTORY! -a victory!'
Is flashed across the wires;
Speed, speed the news from State to State,
Light up the signal fires!
...
Thirty years have come and gone,
Melting away like Southern Snows,
Since, in the light of a summer's night,
I went to the garden to seek my Rose.
...
As we meet in thy name, Alma Mater, to-night,
All our hearts and our hopes are as one,
And love for the mother that nurtured his youth
...